Last-second shot misses, Lady ‘Cats fall to Lansing

The Lady Bobcats were less than a foot from forcing overtime against Lansing High School on Tuesday, as Brooke Sanders' last-gasp three-pointer hit off the front of the rim.

Still, in this new era of Basehor-Linwood High School girls basketball, close calls are no longer good enough, and coach Tami Holthus didn't mince words when asked her feelings on the 41-38 defeat.

"I wasn't pleased with the result one bit," Holthus said.

The main source of displeasure for Holthus was rebounding, as her squad gave up a number of second chance shots, which were often easy lay-ups.

"Until we learn to win the battle on the boards we're going to be in trouble," Holthus said. "I keep emphasizing that with the kids, we need to get better at rebounding."

The Lady 'Cats looked toothless at the beginning of Tuesday's game, falling behind 24-6 in the second quarter. Tiffany Waxmonski's steal and lay-up did little to chip away at the Lady Lions' big lead, but it seemed to energize her teammates a bit, as they finished the half on a 5-2 mini-run.

After halftime BLHS looked like a different team, cutting into the lead with determination. When Sanders scored a put-back late in the third quarter, she drew her team within 31-25.

"We went to a smaller, quicker lineup and we seemed to play a little more intense on the defensive end," Holthus said. "Even though we were smaller we seemed to do a little better job battling for rebounds. On the offensive end we started to attack a little more."

The Lady 'Cats lost a key piece of their attack when Waxmonski went down clutching her knee. The usually stoic Waxmonski, who tore her ACL two years ago as a freshman, was in obvious pain. She was unable to return, and her status for the rest of the season appeared in doubt.

Waxmonski's teammates fought on, though. Sanders took a pass from Ashley Jeannin and drained a three to cut the lead to 35-34 with three minutes left and instill some real hope into the BLHS faithful. But that was as close as the Lady Bobcats would get. Down three in the final minute, the Lady 'Cats had three possessions and came up empty on each. Shae Sawalich hustled to create a jump ball and give them one last chance with 13 seconds left, and Sanders was the right person to take the shot. But this time, she was just a bit short.

Sanders and Cassie Lombardino each had 13 points for Basehor-Linwood, while Michelle Chrisman added eight. Lombardino had six rebounds and Sanders had three assists.

The Lady Bobcats' next game is at home against Mill Valley on Tuesday, Dec. 20.